A Q&A on wedding-ready skin and how to prepare best for your special day!
Dr Bianca, a medical doctor with a special interest in aesthetic medicine, sat down and had a quick chat with her beauty therapist, Leigh-Anne, seeking some insider tips on how she prepped her skin for her wedding!
To find out key tips from a professional beauty therapist, continue reading...
I have a normal/oily combination skin, with areas of dehydration.
Thankfully, being a skincare therapist, I have always been lucky enough to have a wide selection of products available to me to ensure my skin always looks its best. However, I did suffer with the occasional breakout around my mouth and chin area due to stress. I think that’s par for the course when it comes to planning a wedding!
In the clinic, I had a 3x glycolic peel treatments, once a month, to remove any excess dead skin cell build up, refine my pores, and improve overall texture of my skin. I also opted for transdermal mesotherapy as an add-on to this treatment, to enhance product penetration for longer lasting results and optimal hydration.
I introduced a vitamin C serum in the morning, and never missed a day of applying my Heliocare SPF50 sunscreen! I used a hyaluronic acid serum at night, followed by a introductory level Retinol cream(vitaminA). RA cream by Lamelle or Renewal cream by NeoStrata are both excellent introductory retinol creams that are well tolerated by most skins.
My husband has always been quite good in looking after his skin...being married to a skincare therapist, how could he not! As men generally have a more oily to combination skin, we are lucky to be able to both use the same home care products.
I treated him with 2 salicylic acid peels, performed every 2 weeks, and once month prior to the big day. He also had his first shot of Botox to ease the frown line! This did take some major persuasion, but eventually he gave in! He now has botox every 4-6 months, and loves it! Keeping it very subtle, but certainly takes the years off!
I would say you will need to start exfoliationg your skin, in the from of professional peel treatments, at least 6 months prior to the big day. This will also depend on your skin concerns ie. degrees of pigmentation, enlarged pores and so on. But whatever the case may be, your treatment can be tailor made for you, to ensure any downtime is well healed in time.
Booster serums and hydration or vitamin C masks can also be added to your treatment, and most skin clinics offer these as an ‘add-ons’ to most treatments, so just ask for it!
It is vital that you start a homecare skin regime at least 4 months prior to your wedding day. This will allow your skin to ‘settle’ in to your products, and avoid any adverse reactions.
HYDRATE HYDRATE HYDRATE from both inside and out! Drinking adequate amounts of water, and using a hyaluronic acid serum to plump up your skin. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant and a best kept secret to optimizing the ultimate wedding glow, so if there was ever a time to invest in a high quality vitamin C serum, now is it! And my final tip is to avoid changing or trying anything new at least 1 week prior to your big day - this includes facials, medical treatments, excessive sun exposure, skincare products, eating habits, or even your skincare therapists!
Dr Bianca Le Feuvre is a medical doctor with a special interest in aesthetic medicine.
